The New Regulator
by Heartless-x-Love
Summary: Jackie joins the ranks of John Tunstall's Regulators after they save her from a hanging. Story plot follows the movie as close as i can make it. M rated for language. Chavez/OC-Billy/OC.
1. The New Regulator

**Young Guns Fanfic**

**The New Regulator**

"Where did she go?" the guy sounded pretty pissed so I stayed behind the wall, until I heard his footsteps fade away. I let out the breath I'd been holding and shifted my grip on my gun. "That was a close one" I whispered, cautiously peering around the corner, I could see the only way out of town was partly blocked by some wagons and that bastard Murphy's men were everywhere. "Good luck trying to find me" I hissed "I must be the luckiest person around then?" I froze as a rifle barrel was pressed into my back. "Thought you'd get away did you, you sneaky little bitch" the man grabbed a fistful of my coat and glared at me "thought you'd escape justice for killing members of the Murphy-Dolan faction did you?" he spat on my face and laughed "you will hang girl". "I don't think so you son of a bitch" I raised my hand and fired off a round straight into the bastards head. As soon as he hit the dirt I was hot-footing it down the road. I ducked and weaved around people, horses and goods. I leapt over a fence and landed in the dirt amongst a herd of cattle; with my head down I crawled along the fence line until I saw a horse and wagon stop next to me. I aimed my gun at the occupants only to find a rifle pointed at me by a young man with sandy blond hair "howdy" he said with a smile on his face. The other man smiled at me "on you get, I can help you" I looked around before scrambling under the fence and into the wagon. I laid low in the wagon as we left town but sat up as we drove down the road. I eyed the two men suspiciously and kept a hand on my gun. The older one gave the reigns to blondie and turned around to face me "you don't need to fear, I am on your side" "can you tell me you name?" he looked at me placidly as he waited for my answer. "My name is Jacqueline Williams, Jackie for short" the man nodded "how old are you Jacqueline?" "I'm nineteen, why do you care anyway?" "It isn't very often one comes across a young lady of your age escaping from a hanging" I saw blondie turn around in his seat with his eyes wide "you're a girl" "yes, do you have a problem with that?" my hand twitched on my gun, he shook his head and went back to driving. The old man chuckled "I think you'll fit in with the boys very well, don't you agree Josiah?" blondie made a noise that sounded like 'yes' and flicked the reigns.

We followed a track that snaked its way through scrub and hills until I saw a large ranch spreading out in front of us. I nervously pulled my bandana over my face as we came through the gate and I saw a group of boys come out of the house. One of them stepped forward and held the reigns of the horse "John I need to have a word with you about Billy". "What has he done to the pig this time Richard?" "he shaved it and painted it blue" the old man raised an eyebrow "did he now?" he looked around at the other boys "well in that case William can show our young friend here to the bunkhouse and then wash the pig". The others came closer as I got off the wagon, the one called William turned out to be the smallest of the group and he came over with a frown on his face. "The bunkhouse is this way" he slouched off around the corner of the big house. I followed behind as he entered the building and was glad to get out of heat; I took off my hat and wiped my face with my bandana. William turned around and was about to say something but stood gaping instead. "You're a girl!" "obviously, your friend Josiah reacted the same way" William chuckled "that's Doc for ya" he turned back around and lead the way down the hall to the last room. "This'll be your room as long as you can stand being here and one other thing" "what?" "only John calls me William, everyone else calls me Billy" I looked around the room "I suppose the same goes for Josiah?" Billy nodded "the rest of us boys just call him Doc". "Whatever, the same goes with me too, I answer to Jackie most of the time and if you keep looking at me that way I'm going to paint the wall with your brain okay" I aimed my gun square at his head. "She's got you in your place doesn't she Chivato?" I looked towards the voice and saw a tall Indian spinning a knife around.

Billy stepped back "say what you will Chavez" he snickered "I'll soften her up eventually" I aimed my gun at him again and cocked the barrel "say that again and the wall is getting a new coat of paint" I glared at Billy as he walked past Chavez and then outside. "Don't worry about him too much, he means no harm" I returned my gun to its holster and moved to stand next to Chavez "if you don't mind me asking, why are you all here?" We walked outside and could see Billy having trouble washing the pig. "Some of us had many bad things happen in our lives and were on the road to hanging until John took us in" "others like Charlie, Doc and Dick joined because they wanted to". I nodded and leant against the door frame "so why does Billy not get along with the pig?" Chavez chuckled "when he first came here, the pig kept knocking Chivato over and trampling him, they have a mutual dislike for each other". I watched on amused as the pig knocked Billy over, causing him to swear. Chavez put his knife away and patted me on the shoulder "come on Gatito we need to wash up for supper". It wasn't long before we were all seated at the table in front of the best meal I'd seen in a while saying Grace. Once we were able to eat, I tucked in like it was my last meal. "Slow down Gatito or you'll choke" Chavez seemed genuinely concerned so I paced myself. "What did you call her Cha-vez?" I looked at the boy "it's Spanish for kitten" I told him, he burst out laughing and I placed my hand on my gun preparing to pull it out. "I wouldn't if I were you" the stocky boy next to me whispered "why?" I whispered back "well Steve, he doesn't mean any harm by laughing" "never the less Charles, it was inappropriate behaviour for the supper table and at the expense of our new friend" I looked at John and bobbed my head in thanks.

"Now Jacqueline, I would like to know how you came to be marked for death" I swallowed nervously and glanced at all the boys, a smile from Chavez gave me the confidence to tell my story. "Well, it all began last month at my fathers ranch. I was waiting for him to bring our horses in so we could have supper, when all of a sudden he came tearing down the track and his face was as white as a sheet. The horse had barely stopped before he leapt down and ran inside; barring the door behind him. I asked him what was wrong and he muttered something that sounded like 'curse that bastard Murphy' before going to the china cabinet and getting his rifle out. I had rarely seen my father with his gun and the times I did it normally involved horse thieves, so it was a shock. I looked out the window and saw a group of men coming down the track with murderous looks on their faces. Father told me to go upstairs and hide until he saw the men off, I didn't want to leave him but he all but pushed me to the stairs. I relented and went upstairs and straight to the window. I looked down and saw the men had stopped and a few had dismounted, and were walking towards the door. I heard one of them call out to my father, telling him to come out and sign the ranch over to them or they would take it by force. My father replied with a curse and then a shot was fired. The men on the horses pulled their guns out and started firing at the house, some of the bullets ricocheted into the window next to me. I looked around the room and spotted my fathers old rifle in the corner, I took hold of it and was surprised to see it was still loaded. I raised the rifle and aimed the sight at the first man in the group, and pulled the trigger. He tumbled off his horse and fell into the dust, his companions looked up and one of them swore. I aimed the gun again and took out another, before ducking behind the window sill as a barrage of bullets flew in my direction. Once they stopped I cautiously looked out the shattered window, and saw the men had collected their dead and were making their way back up the track. I saw this as an opportunity to see if my father was alright, so I went downstairs only to be faced with a disaster zone. The house was shot nearly to pieces and under the window was the lifeless body of my father. Without thinking I ran over to him and through my tears I could see he was riddled with bullet holes, I sat back on my heels and cursed the men who'd done this. It was only then that I realised there was somebody behind me.

He grabbed hold of me and roughly pulled my hands together with a piece of rope "hope you don't think that just because you're a girl, you'll get special treatment at your hanging" the man smirked and hauled me, kicking and screaming, out the back door where he heaved me onto his horse and headed up the track to meet up with his posse. It turned out they were setting up camp a short way off the main track. They jeered when I was pulled down from the saddle and shoved to the ground. I glared at them as they began preparing their supper. I counted five in all and got an idea. They didn't give me any of their food and soon they bedded down, leaving one man on watch. "I need to have a movement" I told him "do you mind untying me?" he narrowed his eyes as he mulled that over before coming over and removing the rope. He followed me as I went behind a bush and turned his back to me, this gave me the opportunity to dive for his holster. I had his gun out and pointed at his head before he could blink "make a sound and I'll blow **your** brains out first" I hissed in his ear. I lead him back to the camp and made him sit down, before tying his hands behind him. I kept the rifle trained on him as I checked the bullets in the Colt and was satisfied they were all there. I walked over to the guy who'd hauled me away and aimed the gun at his head. I removed the safety and pulled the trigger. The sound woke the other men up so I quickly fired off another three rounds, until it was just me and my captive left. He looked scared but I didn't care, I walked over to him and squatted down. "I'm not going to kill you here and now" "really?" "yes, because I want you to take a message to your chabron of a boss". I stood up and went over to one of the men's packs and dug through it looking for ammunition. I found some and reloaded the Colt, then went and stood next to the fire "I want you to tell him that I will deliver his soul into the fiery pit of Hades". The man started laughing "do you think that a girl like you would be able to kill Mr Murphy by yourself?" I kicked him in the face to shut him up and went over to the horses and picked one I liked. I mounted him and pulled a knife out of my boot; I threw it into the ground between the mongrels' legs and chuckled when his face turned white. "Free yourself with that and remember what I told you to do" I spurred the horse forwards and headed back to the ranch.

I tied the reigns to the back porch and slowly entered the house. I hunted in the darkened kitchen for a candle and matches, and once the room was lit began preparations for fathers' burial. I decided the best thing would be to bury him in the old barn at the centre of the yard. I could work in peace and the candle light wouldn't be seen. I lit another candle and took it out to the barn and carefully set it down on an upturned cart. I spent nearly and hour digging in the hard ground and when I'd finished the grave was the perfect size for my fathers' height. Then I went back inside and gently moved my father out onto the porch. I carefully heaved him onto my shoulders and staggered to the barn; where I slowly lowered him into the grave. I spent a few minutes looking at him before saying a prayer and covering him with earth. I extinguished the candle and went back to the kitchen. With some trouble, I located the strong box that contained my fathers money and emptied its contents. I went upstairs to my room collected a few items, before returning to the kitchen. I dug through what was left of the pantry for canned food and found enough to fill one of the saddle bags. I went outside and stuffed the saddle bags with my clothes, the cans and the money in its own bag. I mounted the horse, which I called Salvaje, and with one last look at the house I headed out into the prairie. I spent a few weeks roaming the land on my way to Lincoln, every now and then hiding from Murphy men. By the end of yesterday I was in Lincoln. I kept my bandana pulled over my face, in case I was recognised, as I rode down the main street. I passed through without attracting unwanted attention so I tethered Salvaje to a tree on the outskirts and headed back into town on foot. I had spotted a shop selling guns and I wanted another Colt, a double holster and a rifle. I didn't spend too long in the shop and I was soon walking back to Salvaje. I stowed the rifle under the saddle bags and loaded the Colt. As I put it into the holster I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and I realised I'd been recognised after all, as standing before me was the survivor and a handful of other Murphy sympathisers. "You're gonna wish you'd killed me when you had the chance girl" the guy stepped forward, raising a rifle and placing the barrel against my forehead.

"You got that rope?" he asked one of the other men "right here" a short guy came up to me and tied my hands together. "Now you just come quietly" the first man smirked and tugged on the rope, I stumbled and they all laughed as we made our way to the courthouse. Brady and the Judge came out and I was thrown on the floor of the dock "tomorrow the fugitive, known as Jacqueline 'Jackie' Williams, will be brought to justice for the killing of six innocent men" I glared at the Judge "you bastard!" "I hereby sentence you to hang by the neck until you are dead" the gavel was slammed down and I was roughly hauled to a secure room and restrained with chains and handcuffs. The men left the room and locked the door behind them. I thought the men were particularly stupid because they had put the handcuffs over the top of my coat, which was pretty thick, and they had not taken my guns away. As the hours passed and night fell, I was planning my escape. I ignored the food they brought me and my thoughts went to Salvaje, I hoped he was still safe and with him on my mind I drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, it was mid-morning and I was due to hang at noon, I had to organize myself and get away. I put my foot on the chain between the cuffs and pushed, slowly working my hands free. I could hear men start moving towards the room I was in, so I hid behind the door and when it opened I shot the person first through it. Amidst all the yelling and the press of bodies, I dashed out of the building and started up the street towards Salvaje. I had to take a detour as Murphy men appeared in front of me, so I dove over the fence to a cattle yard and that's when you found me Mr. Tunstall".

When I finished talking I glanced at the boys around the table, they seemed to be looking at me in a different light, I looked back at the man at the head of the table "I can't thank you enough for helping me, but I would really like to get Salvaje back as soon as possible". The old man nodded "it's still relatively light outside so William can take you back to town" Billy and Chavez seemed the most affected by my speech and it was only when John said his name again that Billy answered. "Sure, let's get going Jackie" I stood up and followed him outside to the stable. He mounted the first horse in the stalls and pulled me up behind him, then turned the horse towards Lincoln and set off at a steady trot. We neared the town and I pointed the direction of the trees that concealed Salvaje "he should be over there so wait here and I'll be back soon" he nodded and once I was on the ground, Billy moved the horse behind a tree and out of sight of the town. I cautiously entered the trees, listening for any sound that people were waiting for me to return, when I heard nothing I crept forwards with my Colt raised just in case. I was relieved to see my horse was where I'd left him and he seemed happy to see me too, nudging my shoulder as I untied the reigns. My rifle was still in its place which I glad to see and so were the contents of the saddle bags. I mounted Salvaje and returned the gun to its holster, and then rode back towards Billy. Just as I reached him I heard shouts and gunshots coming from the town, I looked back and was relieved to see it was just a bar fight gone wrong. "Let's go before they find us" Billy spurred his horse forward and I followed as we raced back to John's ranch. It was just getting dark when we arrived and dismounted, and led the horses to the stables. I removed the saddle bags, gave Salvaje some hay and clean water before kissing his nose and lugging my things to the bunkhouse. Billy and I went back to the others, some of whom were seated around the fire. "Now that you have returned I wish to know something" John looked at me with a gentle smile on his face "would you like to stay here and become one of my Regulators?" I looked at the boys and Chavez smiled at me "yes sir, I think I would" "excellent, now I think it's time you all went to bed as we have an early start tomorrow" John got up and patted me on the head before leaving the room. The boys and I went back to the bunkhouse and said goodnight, Chavez placed a light kiss on my head before opening his door "goodnight Gatito" I blushed "goodnight Chavez" I hurried to my room and locked the door behind me. I kicked my boots off and hung my holster on the bed post next to my head. It took a while to get used to sleeping on a bed for the first time in a month, but I eventually won the battle and drifted off to sleep.

-x-

Heartless-x-Love: So that is Chapter 1, what did you think? I seem to have a romance developing between Chavez and Jackie but will it make it? The following chapters are going to follow the plot of Young Guns 1 as close as I can make them with a few little tweaks here and there. So look forward to the next instalment.

Arigato ^.^

**Confrontations involving ladies undergarments**


	2. The Belted Earl

**The Belted Earl**

I woke the next morning feeling refreshed and safe in the knowledge that I didn't have to worry about being caught off guard anymore. I looked at the sunrise through my window and felt a lump rise in my throat. "Don't worry father, I'll put Murphy in his grave for what he did" a tear slid down my cheek and I quickly brushed it away. I washed my face in the basin next to the window and dried it off with a towel, which seemed to have been there for a while. I put my boots on and picked up my holster. I put my hat on and walked outside, to find Charlie throwing a lasso towards Billy. Dick and Doc were sitting on the porch, talking and having a cigarette and Steve and Chavez were getting into another argument. "Good morning Jackie" Doc said raising his hand "good morning" I replied seating myself next to Doc. "What does being a Regulator actually involve?" I asked looking at the rest of the boys before back to Doc "we work for Mr. Tunstall and regulate any stealing of his property" Charlie said coming over; I looked for Billy only to find him gone. "We should get going" Dick stood up and put out his cigarette. Doc and I stood up too and we were about to start for the stables, when the sound of neighing horses came over the hill. John came out of his house and joined us "Jackie stay close to the boys" was all he said as a group of men came riding down the hill. I spied the Sheriff at the front but didn't recognise the man next to him. John stepped forward and we came up behind him, Dick and Doc were on either side, Chavez and Charlie just behind them, I stood close to Chavez and Steve brought up the rear.

"Good morning, gentlemen" John said politely "good morning, John" Brady replied. I couldn't quite catch what Brady said to John but I did hear the name Murphy as the sheriff indicated the old man next to him, something Brady said also caused Dick to swear; John then spoke up "Mr. Murphy will continue to come to you claiming I've stolen his property until I am pronounced a thief and shaken out of Lincoln, I'm not going anywhere". "Well! The belted earl has spoken" I placed my hand on my gun and tried to step forward, but Chavez held me back. "Look behind you John, all I see are hired thieves" John looked back at us "these boys are promising young men acquiring an education". Murphy dismounted "well, I had you pegged as the type that likes…educatin' young boys" his posse thought that was hilarious. Murphy looked at us and stopped when he spotted me "you forgot to mention you're educating girls as well earl" Chavez and Charlie moved closer to me "vete a la mierda!" I spat in his direction, before he laughed and turned to John and asked for a word in private. All I heard of the conversation was something about cattle and life savings being invested. Before Murphy came back to his horse muttering something about John selling ladies undergarments. The boys and I couldn't stand it any longer and pulled out our guns; I noticed Chavez had a knife as well, and we managed to spook the posse's horses. Murphy looked down at John "get ready for hell" he said before leading the posse away. John seemed unshaken by the threat as he turned to us "back to work chaps" before looking at the pig pen, it was then I saw the glint of a gun "that's where he was" I mumbled to myself.

My first day as a Regulator was a hard slog of riding back and forth across John's ranch, checking that all his cattle and horses were still there. When we broke for lunch Billy came and sat next to me "sorry I was an ass yesterday" I noticed a hint of remorse on his face "don't worry about it" I placed my hand on his shoulder "tell me something Billy" he looked at me "what?" "why were you hiding in the pig pen?" he laughed "I was going to shoot it but then that son-of-a-bitch Murphy came over the hill". All of a sudden Dick jumped up and leapt into the saddle of his horse "Regulators! Mount up, we got trouble" we all scrambled to our feet and looked to the west. There were about twelve Murphy men riding hard in our direction and they looked dangerous. I leapt into Salvaje's saddle and pulled my Winchester out and rammed six bullets into the chamber. Dick led the way as our small group headed towards the larger group, firing his Colt as they came in range. I took particular interest one young member of the posse as we came face to face, then it hit me; he was one of the posse that arrested me. I aimed my gun in his direction and emptied the chamber. "Fuckin' whore" he replied as some of my bullets hit their mark "that's no way to speak to a lady, dirt-bag" Charlie came up on my left with his Colt raised "it's you and I asshole!" I shot back spurring Salvaje forward. I was intent on blowing the bastards brains out, so I didn't see a knife hurtling towards me until it was too late to get out of the way. It lodged in my left arm causing me to drop the reigns, I looked for the asshole that threw it and saw Chavez had beaten me to him. I smiled evilly when the light went out of his eyes and he dropped off his horse into the dust.

I glanced around and saw that we had killed six of them and the survivors were looking nervous. "You will pay for this" the leader said scathingly before turning his horse back in the direction they came from and took off at a gallop, with the remnants of his posse close behind. "That's right, run away ya pile of chicken shit!" Billy fired off a round into the air before returning the gun to his holster. Chavez came over to me and stopped me falling out of the saddle. "The wound is deep Gatito but you will survive" I tried to laugh but everything went black as the blood loss kicked in. The next thing I knew I was lying on something soft and there were hushed voices around me. I slowly opened my eyes to find the boys standing around me "how do you feel Jackie?" Doc asked sitting down at the foot of my bed "fine I guess, where's Billy?" Chavez came more into view "Chivato is out back wasting bullets on a tree". "What's he doing that for?" I pushed myself up with my right arm "he seems to think he should have protected you" I looked at Charlie "why?" Charlie looked at the floor "because you're a girl". "Does he now? That bull-headed son-of-a-bitch should know from my saga I told you that I can take care of myself" I made to get up but Chavez placed a hand on my shoulder. "Try not to push yourself Gatito" I nodded and carefully got up and went out onto the porch and walked around the corner of the bunkhouse to where Billy was executing a tree. "I need protecting do I Billy?" he spun around "of course you do, you are a gi-" "callete Billy, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't survive on my own" I went down the steps and stood in front of him. "After you apologised earlier for what you said yesterday, I really thought that you might be a nice guy" I began walking back to the bunkhouse "I guess I thought wrong, you don't seem to be able to cope with a GIRL being on the same level as you" I went back inside and found all the boys besides Chavez had left my room.

"Don't worry about him Gatito, he'll come around to your side eventually" I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow "do you all hear that?" Chavez nodded and ran his fingers through my hair. He pulled me closer and placed a kiss on my lips "sorry to interrupt but supper's ready" Chavez and I broke apart to find Doc standing in the doorway, looking embarrassed. "We'll be right there" Chavez stepped away and left the room; I put my boots on, no easy task when you've only got the use of one arm, and followed. The boys had obviously told John what had happened because he told me to keep to the main yard of the ranch and not join the boys when they went out to work, until my arm had healed properly. After supper, as we made our back to the bunkhouse, Chavez came up to me "do you think you could teach me to throw knives like you do?" I asked walking closer to him "as long as you don't use your left arm" I smiled "whatever you say". We all said goodnight and went to our rooms, I sat on my bed and began to feel bad about the way I'd spoken to Billy "he likes me enough to feel he needs to protect me and I went and chewed him about it" I got up and went down the hall to Billy's room. I knocked and waited for a minute before opening the door, he was laying on his back staring at the ceiling. "Sorry about my outburst earlier" I looked at the floor and gingerly rubbed my left arm "I don't think you're a bad person" I looked back at him and he seemed to be ignoring me "I guess I'll go then" I turned around and was half-way through the door when the springs of Billy's bed squeaked. "Are you and Chavez seeing each other?" I glanced back at him "not that I'm aware of" I replied, he seemed pleased about that "then you wouldn't mind then if I courted you too?" I stared at him with my mouth wide open for a moment before I moved back towards him and placed a kiss on his cheek "no I wouldn't mind, I wonder what Chavez would say though?" Billy smiled "well then, let the best man win".

-x-

Heartless-x-Love: so there is Chapter 2, how was it? Chavez and Jackie seem to have made it to first base, but Billy is making a move as well. What could happen there? Hit me up with reviews if you have any ideas for the developing love triangle. Stay tuned for the next instalment!

Arigato ^.^


	3. New Clothes And Lessons

**New Clothes and Lessons**

A week after the skirmish with the Murphy boys my arm had healed properly and I was back on full duties as a Regulator. Chavez and Billy were at odds with each other as they vied for my attention, Doc had written a brand new poem and was quite pleased with it, I was working with Charlie and Steve on their manners towards ladies and Billy and Dick were still at odds with each other over the leadership of the Regulators. We were all milling around in the yard when John came out and called Billy and I over. "I know for a fact that the both of you don't have any nice clothes, so I want you to come to town with me and get fully kitted out" we looked at each other "thank you John" we made plans to leave in a couple of hours and then we went back to the other boys. Charlie looked up and squinted in the direction of the main gate. I swore under my breath which caused the rest of the boys to look as well "what's the matter Jackie?" Doc asked standing next to me "that piece of chicken shit was part of the posse that arrested me and then nearly got me hung, what's he doing here?" we watched the young man as he walked up to John's door and knocked, when John answered he said his name was McCloskey and that he'd been fired from Murphy's group for calling him a fat sow. John seemed to like that and pointed him in the direction of the bunkhouse before heading back inside. To get to the bunkhouse, the new guy had to pass through our group and I moved to stand in his way.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked hotly "to put my things in the bunkhouse, I'm the newest member of your group" I spat on the ground "do you recognise me you dung heap?, you tried to hang me two weeks ago!" he looked at me a little closer and his eyes went wide "you're the one who shot me the other week" Chavez and Charlie came up next to me. "Yes, and you're the one who didn't know how to address a lady properly" Charlie replied looking McCloskey up and down. McCloskey looked at Chavez and narrowed his eyes slightly "you on her side too Mexican?" "Mexican Indian you son-of-a-bitch!" Dick stood up and moved in between us "Dick Brewer, I'm John's foreman and I won't tolerate any backstabbing from anyone" he looked at Chavez in particular "I'll show you where you can put your things". I glared at McCloskey's back as he followed Dick into the bunkhouse "what's his game?" I asked no-one in particular "maybe he wants to take us out from the inside?" Billy said leaning against the tree behind him. I swivelled around to look at Billy "but then again he could just want to be part of my Regulators" he laughed at the expressions on our faces "no matter what his reason is I still won't trust him" I glanced back in the direction of the bunkhouse wishing harm to our new 'friend'. I watched McCloskey closely and grudgingly put up with his presence next to me at lunchtime. I refused to be nice to him, I noticed Billy also seemed to be keeping an eye on McCloskey, but it looked like everyone else was being swayed by his charm.

John sat at the front of the buggy and Billy and I sat behind as we made our way into town. We stopped outside John's shop and Billy offered his hand to me as I was getting off "thank you" I gave him a smile and placed my hand in his. Once my feet were on the ground I followed John and Billy into the shop and was amazed by the variety of clothes. "Go and pick anything you like" John said smiling "Jackie, a long coat will come in handy" I looked around and found the coats and walked over to them and began searching for one I liked. I found one that suited me and put it over my arm and then went to look at the rest of the clothes. I ended up with a few new shirts, some new pants, some new waistcoats, new boots, a couple of bandanas, gloves, my coat and a new hat. I took them over to John and Billy, and found Billy had a pile that matched mine in size. John placed a couple of ammunition boxes on top and our shopping was done. Once we'd put our new clothes on and everything else was wrapped and paid for, we put it all in the back of the buggy and started back towards home. When we arrived, Billy quickly disappeared and I had to haul his clothes to the bunkhouse as well as my own. Once I was done with that I went to see what the boys were up to, and found Chavez showing off his knife throwing technique.

"You want to learn to throw knives now Gatito?" he asked with a smile on his face "sure" I stood in front of him and he carefully explained what I was supposed to do. "Firmly grip the handle and aim at the target with both eyes open" the target was the bucket from the well "once your target is lined up raise you arm slightly and throw the knife" Chavez placed his hand on my head "remember to only hit the bucket and not one of us okay Gatito?" he chuckled and stepped back. I lined the bucket up and to my surprise the knife embedded itself deep into the wood "nice one Jackie" Doc said cheerfully "thanks Doc" I nudged a rock with the toe of my boot "aww look what ya did Doc, you made our girl blush" Charlie came over and clapped me on the shoulder. I shoved him gently "stop it Charlie" I laughed and went and stood next to Doc as Chavez threw another couple of knives at the water bucket. All of a sudden a hail of bullets hit the bucket and surrounding dirt, causing all of us to duck for cover with our weapons drawn. Laughter broke out as the dust settled and we looked up at the roof and saw Billy with his guns out. We got up and put our guns away, in Chavez's case his knife, and I was pleased to see McCloskey seemed to stay wary. I was about to swear at Billy when John came out of his house "Regulators!" he paused for a moment looking at all of us "let's dance!".

We all mounted our horses and John climbed into the buggy and we set off for Lincoln. When we arrived the party was in full swing and the band was playing a quick dance tune. We tied the horses up and made our way into the crowd, promising to meet up at the end of the party. John went to talk with some of his business friends and we made our way to the centre of the crowd. "Care to dance Jackie?" Billy asked holding his hand out "sure" we did a few turns until the song ended. A slower song started playing and Doc came up to me next "may I have the pleasure of this dance?" I giggled "but of course kind sir". A few hours later I had danced with all the boys except McCloskey, I'd even had a spin with John and I was sitting next to Doc because I was plum tuckered out. "Having a good time Doc?" I asked sipping my drink "yeah, you?" "this is the best night of my life" I looked at Doc and saw he seemed distracted by something. It was then I noticed a young Chinese girl standing next to Murphy "what are you waiting for? go ask her to dance" I nudged his shoulder "you really think I should?" he seemed nervous "yes you should, you're looking at her like she's an angel so get moving before she goes home". Doc nodded and stood up, neatening his hair and straitening his collar before making his way through the crowd.

I leant against the table and glanced around the crowd. Billy was dancing by himself in the middle of the crowd, Chavez was dancing with a young girl, Charlie, Steve and McCloskey had just made their way back into the press of people, Doc was enjoying his dance and Dick was playing cards. I searched the crowd for John and found him talking to his lawyer, Alex McSween, and his wife Susan. I closed my eyes and thought back to my life before I'd met John and the boys. I was truly grateful for what John had done for me; he had given me a reason to live and shown me there was more to life than being on the run. I had found love and friendship in the boys and, though I didn't want to admit it to myself, Billy's cheeky smile was starting to win me over.

-x-

Heartless-x-Love: so there is Chapter 3, I'm really churning this story out at a cracking pace aren't I? So Jackie is starting to like Billy a bit more now, how's that going to go down with Chavez? Hit me up with reviews if you have any ideas for the love triangle. Stay tuned for the next instalment!

Arigato ^.^


	4. Deputized

**Deputized**

It was nearing midnight when we all met up again at the centre of the crowd, and even though I'd had a few drinks I still kept my distance from McCloskey, instead I stayed close to Billy and Chavez. Charlie spotted John and started walking towards him, the rest of us followed. John was walking past a poker table when one of Murphy's goons walked into him deliberately. Charlie started forward as John apologised, and stood between the two men. "Excuse me, it's you and I! right John?" John nodded and Charlie proceeded to sink his fist into the mans' stomach a few times causing him to double over. His friends were starting to gather so we all took our weapons out and quietly let them know to keep out. Charlie sent the man flying into the poker table causing it to break. After the man and his friends had disappeared someone fired a shot into the air and yelled "Happy New Year!" it took us a few minutes to realise that it wasn't an attack and we also sent shots into the sky.

On the way home the boys all broke out into song, and I resisted the urge to join in by talking to John. "I want to thank you for everything you've done for me" I told him as I rode next to the buggy. He looked at me with a smile on his face "you have been a pleasure to have around and you helped me keep the boys acting like gentlemen" I blushed and looked away "I consider the boys my sons so I also consider you my daughter, and I love you all from the bottom of my heart". I was lost for words 'John really thinks of us as his family' I blushed again and from the corner of my eye I noticed some sage hen start flapping around in front of us. We all stopped as though we were about to be attacked, but when nothing happened the boys and I started down the hill laughing and yelling. I chased Billy around for a minute or two and then we both stopped and looked at John. There were nearly twenty Murphy men behind him, Billy and I looked at each other with matching expressions of dread on our faces. We looked back at John and he met our eyes and it seemed he was saying goodbye, and then the men behind him opened fire. In less than a minute John was lying dead on the ground and the Murphy men were starting down the hill. Billy tried to spur his horse forwards but Doc stopped him "no! there's too many, let's get out of here!" he took off around the clump of bushes to our right, with the other boys following close behind. "Come on Billy! we can't help him now" I tugged on his sleeve but he wouldn't budge "Billy please! I don't want to lose you the same way" I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and aimed to grab the reigns of his horse. "What did you say?" I looked at him and through my tears I could see his expression was one of grief mixed with astonishment "does it matter right now? We need to get away" I started off around the bushes and was glad to hear Billy's horse was following.

At John's funeral I stood between Billy and Chavez while Dick read from the Bible. Doc was staring bleary-eyed at the coffin, Charlie was sniffling, and Steve had left his chewy tobacco in its pouch and had tear stains down his cheeks. I glanced at McCloskey and was unable to read his reaction, which worried me. "Ashes to ashes and dust to dust" Dick concluded his reading and I pulled both boys closer as the tears began falling and they both put an arm around my shoulders, and we stood there for a while.

"Deputize them" we all looked at Alex and JP Wilson "McSween, those are just boys…and a girl! Ain't one of them over twenty one". "Murphy's men will shred them in half within a day!" Wilson wasn't giving in to Alex's request easily "are you going to deputize them or not?" Alex towered over the man in front of him "Hell no! no I'm not Alex, not me". Alex looked at us "alright then, you go tell them" Wilson looked unhappy about that and muttering a curse he walked over to us. "Come with me" he said walking towards the barn our horses were in and held out a bible. We all placed our hands on the Holy Book then loaded our Winchesters. We mounted our horses, Wilson opened the doors and we rushed out all fired up for our first official assignment.

"Alright, Henry Hill is supposed to have been in there with a lady since noon" we all looked down the hill at the rundown hut "we show him the warrant and take him home" Dick told us, digging the warrant out of his pocket. "Yeah, yeah we gotta take him" Charlie agreed "I say we do" McCloskey spoke as well. Dick glanced in Billy's direction "hey Billy, why don't you go inside and have a looksee?" Billy looked at all of us and then back at Dick "go on Billy, if he is give him this and bring him to us" Dick handed Chavez the warrant, who passed it to Doc, who gave it Billy. He glanced at it, looked at us with a smile on his face, then took his coat off and made his way into the building. We waited apprehensively in the trees nearby and I began wondering what was taking Billy so long. The door opened and Billy came out and headed to the out house "now what's he doing?" Dick wondered as we saw Henry Hill come out also go into the out house. All of a sudden a shot rang out and we went for our guns. Half a dozen men came running out of the hut and we rushed out from the trees firing. Charlie brought Billy's horse around and I emptied my gun and saw four men fall. The boys took out most of the others before Billy joined us again "Bonney!, you weren't supposed to smoke anybody, we got warrants, we're the law!" Billy laughed and fired off another few rounds before falling in line as we raced away from the site.

We were sitting behind a wall in Lincoln while Doc read us the latest newspaper. It named Billy as the captain of the Regulators, much to Dick's annoyance, and counted the number of slain at six. "Shit Dick, you sent a lamb into slaughter and he walks a king sheep" I couldn't tell whether Charlie was shocked or amazed, Chavez spun his knife around and said "El Chivato, Billy the Kid eh!" I looked at the ground hiding a smile "yeah. Murphy's gonna want blood, brain and balls for this one" I looked up and scowled at McCloskey. All of a sudden Doc began walking to edge of the wall muttering "I'll be right back" Dick caught up with him "hey Doc don't be stupid, you know they're gonna be looking for us" "yeah I know, I'll be back in a minute" he handed Dick the newspaper and disappeared into the street. "What's he doing?" Steve asked while he reloaded his gun. All I did was smile in answer and busied myself with reloaded my gun as well. Dick leant against the wall next to Billy and stared at him "so Dick, who's next?" Billy asked, after reloading and stowing his guns. Dick's warm brown eyes took on a hard glint "you!" I could tell he was furious with Billy so kept my distance and began pacing. Doc was taking his time and I was starting to get worried. I was readying myself to peek out at the street when I was bowled over by Doc ramming into me at speed. "What the hell is the matter?" I asked him, slightly winded "sorry, Brady turned up and I had to get out of sight quickly" he stood up and held out his hand "are you alright?" I nodded and grasped his hand, and once I was on my feet again I brushed the dirt of my clothes. "Where to now Dick?" I asked "we need to get out of the town" Dick stood up and in half a hour we were making our way deep into the brush of the plains.

-x-

Heartless-x-Love: I am terribly sorry this chapter took so long to update, I couldn't get motivated to finish it. So the Regulators failed at their first arrest and what could Jackie have meant by "I don't want to lose you the same way" when talking to Billy earlier in the chapter? The love triangle with be reduced to a regular couple in the next chapter, who do you think will win Jackie over? Hit me up with reviews if you have any thoughts or suggestions. Stay tuned for the next instalment.


	5. Peyote

**Peyote**

I leant back against a tree and yawned, and continued spinning my knife around. Chavez had given it to me as we had been leaving Lincoln the day before "sometimes Gatito, you will find a knife more reliable than iron" he'd smiled a little evilly and to me it looked like he was staring in McCloskey's direction as he said it. I looked around at the boys, who were all hiding in different places. Charlie and Steve were with the horses behind a clump of trees; Chavez was a few meters to their left, deep in the trees. Dick was to my left and slightly behind, Doc was behind a mound by the river; with McCloskey on his right. Billy was somewhere behind Dick, and I felt a twinge of fear because I couldn't see him. It wasn't long before we heard the thud of hooves down the road, heading in our direction. I ducked behind a tree and saw Paul Baker and Andy Morton stop in the middle of the road. Morton got down from the saddle and walked to the edge of the road next to the trees that concealed Chavez. He knelt down and picked something up "shit" he said turning said piece of shit in his hands. "What's wrong?" Baker was confused "no I mean I found some, horseshit" Morton replied "they came out of the Sierra Bonitas just this morning, horses been grazin' wild, pretty good don't ya think Baker?" I saw Chavez sneak out of the trees behind Morton and place his knife to the man's throat. "Not that good" he murmured as the rest of made our presence known, all rifles and Colts cocked and aimed at the two Murphy men.

"Buenos dias, shitheads!" Dick said riding forward, with Charlie and Steve coming up next to him, Chavez let go of Morton and stood nearby. "You don't understand Dick, by killing Henry Hill, you all started a war." Baker said. "By killing Mr. Tunstall, you all started the damn war, Baker!" Dick was not happy about Baker's accusation. "Just the same we're talking fifty, sixty men against your what six or seven" Morton looked at me "and one girl" I glared at him "we're with the Ring, Dick" he looked away. Billy appeared and began to circle around Morton "we're gonna bury you, you can believe that" he said. "Quiet, Bonney. We're taking you to jail, no killing." Dick said. "Objection your honour!" Billy grabbed hold of Morton's coat. "These boys are going to the grave in the name of John Tunstall." "I said quiet, Billy; I don't need that kind of talk, law don't talk like that" Dick was struggling to keep Billy under control. "Yeah, well law don't kill innocent merchants now do it?" Steve argued back, "shut up, Dirt face" Doc replied keeping his gun aimed in Baker and Morton's direction. "Take the son-of-a-bitches up to Capitan Mountain and blow their brains out, whatdya say Steve?" Billy was getting excited and I knew it wasn't going to end well, "yeah!" Steve agreed with a smile on his face. "Hey Billy, easy" I glared at McCloskey as he stepped in front of Billy "Dick, I don't think we should go by way of south road", "why's that?" Dick asked and McCloskey continued "well, I think Murphy will be watching the trail ends with ambushes, I think we should go straight through to Lincoln".

I saw McCloskey look past Billy towards Morton, and I tightened my grip on my gun. "Hey I saw that" Billy said suddenly "what, what'd see, what'd see?" Charlie asked nervously looking from Billy to McCloskey. "He knows what I just saw" he advanced on McCloskey, who backed into to Doc, "what are you talking about?" he asked. "Where's the ambush McCloskey, in Lincoln? You're trying to steer us away from Capitan, so your men, MURPHY'S MEN! Can jump us in Lincoln" I knew then that my suspicions about McCloskey were true. Dick now joined in "Billy what are you talking about, McCloskey's with us he's a Regulator" Billy wouldn't look at Dick "yeah but he used to ride with Murphy that's what I'm saying" he fired back. "That was a long time ago" Dick was getting mad now "HE'S A SPY!" Billy glared in Dick's direction before looking back at McCloskey. "He's been with us; we made a pact, right McCloskey?" McCloskey seemed nervous "right, Jesus Billy, come on" he held his hand out. Billy stared at it for a moment, while Morton edged closer to Steve and Charlie; who both raised their guns, stopping his movement. "Ah, shit I'm sorry McCloskey" Billy sighed as he put his gun away, he took the outstretched hand "it's alright, you're all upset about John and..." Billy used his free hand to grab his other gun "sorry I didn't sniff you out sooner, you goddamned traitor".

With one shot Billy blew a hole straight through McCloskey's head, splattering Doc with blood and brains. "BILLY!" Dick yelled, Charlie looked panicked "Jesus!" he exclaimed as Billy shot McCloskey in the stomach for good measure. Baker and Morton tried to run for it. Chavez's knife lodged between Baker's shoulders and he slipped off his horse and landed in a heap in the ground. Billy was firing at Morton, but none of the shots were lethal. Doc raised his rifle and shot him in the shoulder "get that son-of-a-bitch!" he yelled at Steve, who fired off a round and Morton fell into a bush and moved no more. "Court adjourned" Billy chuckled, "moron! You're out of line you son-of-a-bitch" Dick was furious. "Richard he was right, McCloskey was acting strange" Doc said defending Billy. I looked around at the three dead bodies and the sight made me so queasy, especially McCloskey with the back of his head missing, that I missed what the rest of the conversation because I was to busy heaving my guts up by the water. I felt a hand on my back and looked up to see Chavez next to me "are you alright Gatito?" I wiped my mouth "I am now" I replied getting shakily to my feet. "Is she okay to ride Chavez?" Dick asked looking at me with concern "yes I believe so" Chavez replied helping me into Salvaje's saddle. Dick seemed relieved "okay everybody! Skin up the river now!" he yelled spurring his horse forwards.

While Dick cooked our supper, Doc read the newspaper out loud to the rest of us. He read out something regarding Billy and I saw Dick spit on the ground and grumble something incoherent. I was seated on my bed-roll, next to the fire, still feeling a bit queasy when Doc mentioned the name John Kinney. "Oh great, John Kinney" Charlie didn't seemed pleased, Billy looked confused "well who's Kinney?" he asked. Doc read a bit more of the paper "it says here, he's an ex-soldier who suffered an injury and is now a bounty hunter". "Well, what does that mean?" Steve asked, Charlie sighed "it means he can whoop some ass". "How are you feeling now Jackie?" Dick asked "much better" I replied with a smile. I was keeping an eye on supper while Dick went to have a talk with Doc about where we were going next, when Chavez returned from his short walk with something in his hat. After supper Chavez painted his face like a skull, and made a strange drink from the things in his hat. Chavez told us how drinking this mixture would help us find the right way to go and took a sip from the tin mug in his hand. "Oh Christ Chavez that's all we need, some more of your red ass Navajo mambo-jahambo, we're running out of time here" Chavez hissed and passed the cup to Billy. "Is that any good?" Charlie asked Billy who replied with a cough "Chavez, what is that?" Charlie asked "peyote" he answered with no explanation. The mug was passed around the group, with everyone but Dick taking a sip.

The effects of peyote were different for all of us. Charlie was wandering about saying "this is great" over and over. Doc was mumbling something about butterflies and flowers. Billy had stuck flowers in his hat and was throwing his gun up in the air, and then falling over in his attempt to locate it. Steve was shouting about chickens and firing his rifle randomly; he nearly hit Doc on one occasion. Chavez was standing on a hill above the rest of us and he seemed to be meditating. My reaction was the strangest thing that had ever happened to me. As I looked at the boys I could see different colours surrounding them. Doc and Charlie had a pale red, Steve and Dick had pale pink and Billy and Chavez had red. I figured out that these colours showed me how much I cared about each of them, the strongest feelings I guessed were red. I kept looking from Chavez to Billy, trying to see who had the brightest red. It was very subtle, but Billy was brighter and looking deep into my heart I agreed with the pretty colours.

"Regulators! Saddle up!" Dick yelled, drowning out Steve's yelling. Chavez leaped onto his horse and let loose an Indian war cry. A wide eyed Charlie climbed slowly into his saddle and held the reigns of Billy's horse, which Billy was mounting backwards. Steve was talking to his horse "hey Dog, did you see the size of that chicken?" then his gun went off. I mounted Salvaje with ease and was happy to see he showed up as red as Billy. Dick shook his head "godless heathens" he looked around to make sure we were all there, in body at any rate, before starting down the trail. As we passed through a Reservation, I kept glancing around nervously. The peyote had worn off and I was feeling jumpy. I rode close to Billy and the fact that he was waving and nodding to everyone we passed made me feel less nervous. "Hey Chavez" Charlie kept looking around "how come they ain't killin' us?" "we're in the spirit world asshole, they can't see us" Steve was obviously still under the peyote's influence. I shook my head and moved up to Billy's side; he noticed and smiled at me. I smiled back and felt a flutter in my stomach. It was then I realized in my brain that I was falling hard and fast for Billy and nothing was going to stop me. "I love you" I whispered leaning close to him, his smile broadened "I told you I would soften you up eventually" he chuckled and pulled a flower from his hat. He kissed it and handed it to me, his blue eyes sparkling in the sun; I stuck the flower in the pocket of my shirt and looked forward again. Chavez was looking back at me and it was clear he had witnessed what had just happened between me and Billy. He nodded slowly, acknowledging the fact I had chosen Billy over him.

-x-

Heartless-x-Love: I AM STILL ALIVE PEOPLE! Sorry I haven't updated for ages, I couldn't get motivated to finish this chapter. Anywho, so the Regulators have killed another three Murphy men and taken an hallucinogenic cactus drink. That scene is one of my favourites from the movie, especially Steve and his chickens. Jackie has fallen for Billy and Chavez is okay with that. So my wonderful fans, if you have any thoughts or comments feel free to review, I would love to hear some of your thoughts for the next chapter Blazer's Mill.

Until the next one…

"_Once I was afraid of love, but when it's your brother those things change"_

"_Cause love is just another word for trust, so hear me when I say…"_

"…_NEVER SAY DIE!"_


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